Homemade Potato Latkes Recipe

If you’re looking for a tasty appetizer to serve up to friends or make with your kids, these potato latkes are super easy to make and are dang delicious!

Ingredients for this recipe:

• 3 pounds or 4-5 large peeled russet potatoes
• ½ peeled and finely diced yellow onion
• 1 cup matzo meal
• 5 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• canola oil for frying
• ¼ cup schmaltz
• sour cream, chopped dill, chopped chives and apple sauce for garnish

Makes 24 latkes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Procedures:

1. Shred the potatoes on a grater and place them into cheesecloth and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the onion, matzo meal, eggs, baking powder, salt and pepper until combined and then add in the potatoes and mix in completely using a spoon or your hands. Set aside.
3. Heat the oil and schmaltz in a large frying pan to 350°.
4. using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out some of the latke batter and place in the hot oil. Tap down the top of the latke in the oil to flatten it out.
5. Cook for 3 ½ to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked throughout.
6. Drain on a rack or paper towels before serving them with a dollop of sour cream with chives and dill or with apple sauce.

CHEF NOTES:

• It is incredibly important to squeeze out as much liquid from the potatoes as possible so that they can soak up all of the ingredients when mixing them with the eggs, matzo, baking powder, etc.
• If the potatoes have too much liquid in them, your latke batter will be really wet and won’t hold together while frying.
• Do not worry if the potatoes start to turn brown as they will regain color once frying.
• In addition to the finely chopped yellow onions you can also run it on a microplane or the fine grate side of your grater to easily incorporate onion flavor into the recipe.
• If you don’t have a thermometer to see how hot the oil is, just add a small amount of the latke batter in and if it begins to fry then you are good to go. Better to be too cool then too hot.
• If you do not drain the fried latkes on a rack or on paper towels, they will become incredibly soggy and lose the outside crispness.
• Cook the latkes in batches of 8 since this makes 24 total.
• These will store in the refrigerator covered for up to 3 days or will freeze well covered for up to 2 months. Thaw them for 1 day in the refrigerator before reheating.
• To reheat the latkes, place in the oven at 350°for 6-8 minutes or until hot in the center. You can also heat them in the microwave, but they may lose some of the outside crispness.